High-speed switch mechanism



July 31, 1956 J. B. OWENS ETAL HIGH-SPEED SWITCH MECHANISM 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 11, 1952 INVENTORS WITNESSES:

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HIGH-SPEED SWITCH MECHANISM ATTORNEY July 31, 1956 .1. B. OWENS ET LHIGH-SPEED SWITCH MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 11, 1952 uwaINVENTORS James B. Owens and Chester W.U

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ATTORNEY United States Patent HIGH-SPEED SWITCH MECHANISM James B.Owens, East McKeesport, and Chester W. Upton, In, West Mifiiin, Pa.,assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application September 11, 1952, Serial No.308,954 12 Claims. (Cl. 200106) Our invention relates, generally, toelectric switches and, more particularly, to operating mechanisms forswitches suitable for use as grounding switches.

For certain protective schemes, for example the differential protectionof a power transformer, a switch is provided for grounding the powercircuit to one side of the transformer, thereby causing positivetripping of the high-voltage circuit breaker which may be located somedistance from the transformer. The grounding switch is normally latchedopen and spring biased to the closed position. The latch is tripped by asolenoid which is energized through the contact members of adifferential relay. It is desirable that the switch close at a highspeed and that rebounding of the switch blade upon closing be prevented.

An object of our invention, generally stated, is to provide a groundingswitch which shall be simple and efficient in operation and which may beeconomically manufactured and installed.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide a high-speedactuating mechanism for a switch of the blade type having a rotatableoperating shaft.

Another object of our invention is to provide a resetting mechanism fora spring-actuated switch.

A further object of our invention is to prevent rebounding of the switchblade upon closing.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a spring-biasedswitch which is latched in both the open and the closed positions.

Other objects of our invention will be explained fully hereinafter orwill be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In accordance with one embodiment of our invention, the switch blade ofa grounding switch is actuated by a rotatable shaft having a lever armsecured thereto. The lever is connected to a spring assembly which iscompressed when the blade is in the open position and is held undercompression by a primary latch carried by an arm secured to a sleevewhich is coaxial with the shaft for the blade. The latch is released bya lever actuated by a tripping solenoid and the spring rotates the shaftto close the switch blade. A secondary latch engages the lever on theshaft to prevent rebound upon closing and to hold the blade closed. Themechanism is reset by rotating the sleeve and the primary latch arm inone direction to cause the secondary latch to be disengaged from, andthe primary latch engaged to the shaft lever and the spring assembly.The sleeve is then rotated in the opposite direction to open the switchblade and compress the closing spring.

For a better understanding of the nature and objects of our invention,reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view, in side elevation, of a grounding switch embodyingthe principal features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, in plan, of a portion of the actuatingmechanism for the switch;

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Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, in side elevation, of the structure shown inFig. 2, the mechanism being shown in a position corresponding to theopen position of the switch blade;

Fig. 4 is a view, similar to Fig. 3, showing the mechanism in a positioncorresponding to the closed position of the switch blade;

Fig. 5 is a view, similar to Figs. 3 and 4, showing the mechanism inposition to reset the switch, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view, in perspective, of the lever for connectingthe spring assembly to the blade shaft.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, the structureshown therein comprises a switch blade 10 which is disposed to engagestationary contact members 11 supported by an insulator stack 12 mountedupon a base 13. The base 13 may be supported by a suitable structuralframework (not shown). As explained hereinbefore, the switch blade 10may be utilized for grounding a power circuit when closed. Accordingly,the blade is normally in the open position, as shown by the full linesin Fig. 1. As shown, the blade 10 may be so mounted that it travelsapproximately between the open and the closed positions.

The blade 10 is normally retained in the open position and is biased tothe closed position by a spring assembly or other suitableenergy-storing means which will be described more fully hereinafter. Theblade 10 is also retained in the closed position and may be reset by aresettting mechanism which is enclosed in a housing 14 which is mountedupon the base 13. The resetting mechanism may be manually operated by ahandle 15 which is pivotally connected to a vertical shaft 16 rotatablymounted in bearing supports 17 which may be attached to the frameworkfor supporting the base 13. The shaft 16 is connected to one end of ahorizontally disposed rod 18 through a crank arm 19. The other end ofthe rod 18 is connected to a lever arm 22. The arm 22 is connected to arotatable sleeve which is part of the operating mechanism for theswitch, as will be described more fully hereinafter.

As shown by the dot-dash lines, the handle 15 may be raised to asubstantially horizontal position when it is desired to operate theresetting mechanism. The handle is utilized to rotate the vertical shaft16, thereby operating the mechanism, as will be described hereinafter.The handle 15 may be locked in the position shown by the full lines bymeans of a padlock (not shown).

As shown in Figs. 2 to 5, the operating mechanism for the switch blade10 comprises a rotatable shaft 25having an arm 26 secured thereto and towhich the blade 10 may be attached. One end of the shaft 25 is mountedin a sleeve 27 which is rotatably disposed in a bearing member 28mounted in the housing 14. The other end of the shaft 25 may besupported by a suitable bearing bracket (not shown) which may be mountedon the base 13. As explained hereinbefore, one end 29 of the sleeve 27is attached to the lever arm 22, shown in Fig. l.

A lever arm 31 is secured to the shaft 25. As shown more clearly in Fig.6, the lever arm 31 comprises a pair of spaced arms 32 having holes 33at one end thereof for receiving the shaft 25 and holes 34 at the otherend thereof for receiving a pin 35. The arms 32 may be welded to aspacing member 36 and an additional arm 37 may be welded to anotherspacing member 38. The arm 37 is provided with a hole 39 for receivingone end of the pin 35, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

The pin 35 connects the lever arm 31 to a spring assembly 41. As shownin Fig. 2, the spring assembly 41 comprises a coil spring 42 whichsurrounds a telescoping guide rod 43. One member of the rod 43 isattached to the pin 35 by a connector 44 and the other member ispivotally attached to a back plate 45 of the housing 14 by a pin 4s. Thespring 42 is disposed between a seat 47 on the connector dd and a squarenut 48 which is threaded on the outer member of the telescoping guide43. in this manner the compression of the spring 42 may be adjusted bymeans of the threaded nut 48.

' As shown most clearly in Fig. 3, the spring assembly 41 is retained inthe compressed or loaded position by means of a primary latch 51 orother releasable device which is carried by a latch arm 52, one end ofwhich is secured to the sleeve 27. As shown in'Fig. 2, the latch arm 52comprises a pair of spaced members 53 between which the latch 51 ismounted on a pin 54. The latch 51 has a curved end '55 which is normallybiasedagainst the sleeve 27 by a spring 56. The latch 51 has a'ho okportion 57 which engages the pin 3% to retain the spring 42 in thecompressed position. When the spring $2 is compressed, as'shown in Figs.2 and 3, the spring assembly 41 and the lever arm '31 are disposed toactuate the switch blade from the open to the closed position but areprevented from closing the blade by the latch '51.

The primary latch 51 may be disengaged from the pin 35 by a trippinglever 58 which is actuated by a remotelycontroll'ed'device, such as acore 59 of a solenoid mechanism 61'having a coil 62. The solenoidmechanism may be mounted on a bracket 63 which is attached to the backplate 45 of the housing 14. As explained hereinbefore the solenoid coil62 may be energized through the contact members of a differential relayor other protective device located remotely from the switch mechanism.When the coil 62 is energized, the lever 58 is actuated to engage thecurved end 55 of the primary latch 51, thereby disengaging the hook 57from the pin 35 and releasing the spring 42 which rotates the shaft 25through the lever arm 31, thereby closing the switch blade 10.

As explained hereinbefore, it is desirable to have the grounding switchclosed at a relatively high speed, the closing time of the embodimentdisclosed being of the order of cycles on a 60 cycle system. Because ofthis high speed, there is a considerable tendency for the blade 10 torebound from the stationary contacts 11 upon closing. To prevent thisrebounding, a spring-biased secondary latch 65, or other releasabledevice, is provided. The secondary latch 65 comprises a bar 66, one endof which is pivotally mounted on a pin 67 disposed in a bracket 68 inthe housing 14. The bar 66 is biased upwardly by a spring 69, the upwardtravel being limited by a corner 71 of the bar engaging the bracket 68.During the closing of the switch, the pin 35 engages the bar 66'tocompress the spring 69. Near the end 'of the stroke the pin 35 dropsinto a'notch at one end of the bar 66 and'is engaged by a shoulder 72 toprevent rebound: ing of the switch blade lltl and also to retain theblade in the closed position. The positions of the members of theoperating mechanism, corresponding to the closed position of the switchblade it), are shown in Fig. 4.

In order to reset the mechanism after an automatic operation, the sleeve27 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, thereby causing the latcharm 52 to carry the primary latch 51 downwardly from the position shownin Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 5. As explained hereinbefore,the sleeve 27 may be rotated counterclockwise by means of themanually-operated handle 15. As the latch arm 52 moves downwardly, theend of one of the memers 53 engages the secondary latch bar 66, therebylowering the bar to disengage the pin 35. At the end of the downwardtravel of the latch arm 52, the hook 57 on the primary latch 51 engagesthe pin'35, as shown in Fig. 5.

The sleeve 27 is then rotated clockwise by means of the handle 15 toopen the switch blade ill and compress the spring 42. When the spring 42is fully compressed, the members of the actuating mechanism are returnedto the positions shown in Fig. 3. As explained hereinbefore, the handle15 may be locked in the position shown by the full lines in Fig. 1,thereby retaining the members in the positions shown in Fig. 3 until theprimary latch 51 is released by operation of the tripping solenoid 61.

An adjustable screw 75 is disposed to engage a shoulder 76 upon one ofthe members 53 on the latch arm 52 to stop the upward travel of thelatch arm as the switch blade is returned to its open position. Thescrew 75 is disposed in a member 77 of the housing 14.

An electrical heating device 73 may be mounted in the housing lid onsupports 79 to prevent condensation from taking place in the housing.Thus, the operating mechanism is well protected from the elements sinceit is enclosed by the housing 1 The stationary contact structure 11 ispreferably of the semi-enclosed type having a hood over the contactmembers to protect them from ice accumulations.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that we have provided aswitch mechanism which is particularly suitable for operating agrounding switch, but which may be utilized for operating switches ofother types. Provision is made for latching the switch blade in both ofits extreme positions of travel. Since the blade is required to travelthrough less than the time required for the switch to close is reducedas compared with switches which must travel through 90 or more. Themechanism herein described is relatively simple in structure andpositive in operation.

Since numerous changes may be made in the abovedescribed construction,and diiferent embodiments of the invention may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a switch, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladesecured to the shaft and movable in an are as the shaft is rotated, aspring assembly, a lever arm connecting the spring assembly to theshaft, a primary latch engaging the lever arm to hold the springcompressed, electrically operated means for disengaging said latch torelease the spring to rotate the shaft and actuate the blade to closedposition, a secondary latch engaging the lever arm to retain the bladein the closed position, and manually operable means for first rotatingthe primary latch about the shaft in one direction to engage the leverarm and then in the other direction to rotate the shaft to open theswitch blade and compress the spring at the same time.

2. In a switch,-in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladeactuated by rotation of the shaft to open and closed positions, a springassembly, a lever arm having one end secured to the shaft, a pinconnecting the other end of the lever arm to the spring assembly, aprimary latch engaging the pin to hold the spring compressed, anelectrically actuated lever for disengaging said latch to release thespring to rotate the shaft and actuate the blade to the closed position,a secondary latch engaging the pin to retain the blade in the closedposition, and manually operable means for first actuating the primarylatch in one direction to engage the'pin and then in the other directionto rotate the shaft to open the switch blade and compress the springwith the same operation.

3. In a switch, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladeactuated by rotation of the shaft to open and closed positions, a springassembly, a lever'arm having one endsecured to the shaft, a pinconnecting the other end of the lever arm to the spring assembly, aprimary latch'engaging the pinto hold the spring compressed, anelectrically actuated lever for disengaging said latch to release thespring to rotate the shaft and actuate the blade to the closed position,a spring-biased secondary latch engaging the pin to retain the blade inthe closed position, and manually operable means for first rotating theprimary latch in one direction to engage the pin and then in the otherdirection to rotate the shaft to open the switch blade and compress thespring at the same time, said secondary latch being disengaged from saidpin through operation of the primary latch.

4. In a switch, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladeactuated by the shaft to open and closed positions, a spring assembly, alever arm connecting the spring assembly to the shaft, a rotatablesleeve surrounding the shaft, a latch arm secured to the sleeve and rotatable about said shaft, a primary latch carried by the latch arm tocompress the spring, tripping means for disengaging the primary latch torelease the spring and actuate the blade to the closed position, asecondary latch for retaining the blade in the closed position, andmanually operable means connected to said sleeve for first rotating saidlatch arm in one direction to release said secondary latch and engagethe primary latch and then in the other direction to open the switchblade and compress the spring simultaneously with the opening of theswitch blade.

5. In a switch, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladeactuated by the shaft to open and closed positions, a spring assembly, alever arm connecting the spring assembly to the shaft, a rotatablesleeve surrounding the shaft, a latch arm secured to the sleeve androtatable about said shaft, a primary latch carried by the latch arm toload the spring, tripping means for disengaging the primary latch torelease the spring and actuate the blade from one of said positions tothe other, a springbiased secondary latch for retaining the blade insaid other position, and mechanical means operable first in onedirection to rotate the latch arm in one direction to release thesecondary latch and engage the primary latch, said mechanical meansbeing then operable in another direction to rotate the latch arm in theother direction to actuate the blade to its first position and reloadthe spring.

6. In a switch, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladeactuated by the shaft to open and closed positions, a spring assembly, alever arm having one end secured to the shaft, a pin connecting theother end of the lever arm to the spring assembly, a rotatable sleevesurrounding the shaft, a latch arm secured to the sleeve and rotatableabout the shaft, a primary latch carried by the latch arm and engagingthe pin to load the spring, tripping means for disengaging the primarylatch from the pin to release the spring and actuate the blade from oneof said positions to the other, a spring-biased secondary latch forretaining the blade in said other position, and mechanical meansoperable first in one direction to rotate the latch arm in one directionto release the secondary latch and engage the primary latch, saidmechanical means being then operable in the opposite direction to rotatethe latch arm in the opposite direction to actuate the blade to itsfirst position and reload the spring.

7. In a switch, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladeactuated by the shaft to open and closed positions, a spring assembly, alever arm having one end secured to the shaft, a pin connecting theother end of the lever arm to the spring assembly, a rotatable sleevesurrounding the shaft, a latch arm secured to the sleeve and rotatableabout the shaft, a primary latch carried by the latch arm and engagingthe pin to load the spring, tripping means for disengaging the primarylatch from the pin to release the spring and actuate the blade from oneof said positions to the other, a spring biased secondary latch forengaging said pin to retain the blade in said other position, andmanually operable means connected to the sleeve for first rotating thelatch arm in one direction to disengage the secondary latch from the pinand engage the primary latch on the pin and then in the oppositedirection to actuate the blade to its first position and reload thespring at the same time.

8. In a switch, a stationary contact member, a rotatable shaft, amovable switch blade secured to the shaft and engageable with thestationary contact member, energystoring means for moving the switchblade toward the stationary contact, a releasable device controllingoperation of the energy-storing means, a remotely-controlled deviceoperable to actuate said releasable device and release energy of theenergy-storing means to rotate the shaft and move the switch blade toengage the stationary contact, a second releasable device for holdingsaid switch blade in engagement with the stationary contact and opposingrebound therefrom at the end of its movement toward the stationarycontact, and an operating member for opening the switch blade andresetting the first said releasable device with the same direction.

9. In a switch, a stationary contact member, a rotatable shaft, amovable switch blade secured to the shaft and engageable with thestationary contact member, energystoring means for moving the switchblade toward the stationary contact, a releasable device controllingoperation of the energy-storing means, a remotely-controlled deviceoperable to actuate said releasable device and release ener y of theenergy-storing means to rotate the shaft and move the switch blade toengage the stationary contact, a second releasable device for holdingsaid switch blade in engagement with the stationary contact and opposingrebound therefrom at the end of its movement toward the stationarycontact, and resetting means operable first in one direction to releasesaid second releasable device and then in the opposite direction toreset the first said releasable device.

10. In a switch, a stationary contact member, a rotatable shaft, aswitch blade secured to the shaft and movable into and out of engagementwith the stationary contact member, energy-storing means for moving saidswitch blade, a releasable device controlling operation of theenergy-storing means, a remotely-controlled device operable to actuatesaid releasable device and release energy of the energy-storing means torotate the shaft and move the switch blade, a second releasable devicefor holding the switch blade at the end of its movement, and anoperating member for opening the switch blade and loading theenergy-storing means and resetting the first said releasable device withone operation.

11. In a switch, a stationary contact member, a rotatable shaft, aswitch blade secured to the shaft and movable into and out of engagementwith the stationary contact member, energy-storing means for moving saidswitch blade, a releasable device controlling operation of theenergy-storing means, a remotely-controlled device operable to actuatesaid releasable device and release energy of the energy-storing means torotate the shaft and move the switch blade, a second releasable devicefor holding the switch blade at the end of its movement, and anoperating member movable first in one direction to release said secondreleasable device and then movable in the opposite direction to load theenergy-storing means and reset the first said releasable device.

12. In a switch, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a switch bladeactuated by rotation of the shaft to open and closed positions,energy-storing means for rotating the shaft, a releasable devicecontrolling operation of the energy-storing means, a remotely-controlleddevice operable to actuate said releasable device and release energy ofthe energy-storing means to rotate the shaft to actuate the blade to theclosed position, a second releasable device for retaining the blade inthe closed position and opposing rebound therefrom, and an operatingmember for opening the switch blade and resetting the first saidreleasable device at the same time.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

